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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
Turmeric to green tea: Can herbal supplements put the liver in danger?
A recent study reveals a concerning trend. Millions in the US regularly consume herbal supplements. These supplements contain ingredients potentially harmful to the liver. Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed data. They found widespread use of supplements with hepatotoxic botanicals. Turmeric, green tea, and ashwagandha are among the commonly consumed ones. The supplement industry is booming, and many are leaning towards herbal ones, hoping they are safe, because they are 'natural'. But does natural mean they are safe for your health? Well, not really. People across the globe consume supplements, and a recent study found that many contain potentially harmful natural ingredients. A study by the researchers at the University of Michigan found that millions of people consume supplements that contain potentially hepatotoxic botanical ingredients. The findings are published in the journal JAMA . Herbal supplements and liver damage This study dug deeper into the breadth of consumption of herbal supplements, which were previously shown to be potentially toxic to the liver. They found that millions of Americans consume herbal supplements that are toxic to the liver. The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2017 and 2020. Over a 30-day period, 4.7% of surveyed U.S. adults reported taking supplements containing at least one of six botanicals of interest: turmeric green tea ashwagandha black cohosh garcinia cambogia red yeast rice Explaining the paper Estimated Exposure to 6 Potentially Hepatoxic Botanicals in US Adults , the lead author, Alisa Likhitsup, M.D., M.P.H., the clinical assistant professor of Medicine at U-M, said, 'Our interest started when we saw cases of liver toxicity from herbal and dietary supplement use in people enrolled in the ongoing NIH-funded DILIN study.' The number of people taking these supplements was shocking. 'But it was difficult to say how many people were using these supplements and why. The major finding here is the large number of Americans taking these products with an estimated 15 million adult Americans taking them on a regular basis,' Likhitsup added. Not all supplements are safe While supplementation is often used to compensate for the deficiency of nutrients in the body not all are safe. Previous studies have shown that certain botanicals can potentially cause liver damage. The lack of government regulation, insufficient attention to medical screenings, and frequent mislabeling are some other concerns related to supplements. 'In a previous study, we found that there was a great deal of mislabeling of some of these products,' Robert Fontana M.D., Michigan Medicine hepatologist, professor of medicine and the study's senior author, said. 'We performed analytical chemistry and found about a 50% mismatch between stated ingredients on the label and what they actually contained, which is quite alarming. If you buy a supplement and it says it has a certain ingredient, it's basically a coin flip if that's true or not,' Fontana added. The lack of regulation in the supplement industry leads to mislabeling. And since their effects are not well understood, clinicians often will not ask patients what supplements they are taking. 'We weren't aware that so many people were taking these supplements. So, when doctors see patients in the office, they don't necessarily ask about supplement use or take into consideration their effects,' Likhitsup, a transplant hepatologist stressed. What they found The researchers found that most of the people take supplements containing turmeric (3.46%), followed by green tea (1.01%), ashwagandha and black cohosh (0.38%), garcinia cambogia (0.27%), and red yeast rice products (0.19%), in the studied population. What's more concerning is that most of the participants of the study reported that they take these botanicals without the advice of a doctor. Most of the participants took the botanicals either to improve or maintain health. Of the turmeric users, 26.8% consumed the products specifically for supposed benefits for joint health or arthritis, while 27.2% of the green tea users were hoping to improve their energy levels. People who took garcinia cambogia hoped it would help them lose weight. Boom of herbal supplements The researchers also found that there is a boom in the supplement industry, particularly among herbal products. There are more than 80,000 unique supplement products available for purchase worldwide and that supplement sales surpassed $150 billion in the United States in 2023, a figure that rivals the combined sales of prescription drugs. Another study found a 70% increase in liver transplants due to injury caused by supplements from 2010 to 2020, compared to 1994-2009. This study was, however, not able to establish any kind of causal relationship between consumption of the six botanicals and liver injury since it was intended to assess supplement exposure in the general US population. 7 Ways to check for fatty liver at home Since these supplements are not well regulated, the researchers are hoping to make clinicians and patients aware of just how much is still unknown about these supplements. 'We're not trying to create an alarm. We're just trying to increase awareness that the over-the-counter supplements people are taking and buying have not been tested nor necessarily proven to be safe,' Fontana said.
UPI
5 days ago
- Health
- UPI
CDC: Young Americans get 62% of calories from ultra-processed foods
A study released by the CDC on found that Americans 18 and younger receive nearly 62% of their calories from ultra-processed foods. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The Centers for Disease Control reported that American young people between the ages 1-18 receive nearly 62% of their calories from ultra-processed foods. The CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that from August 2021 to August 2023, people from that age range got 61.9% of their calories from ultra-processed foods, while adults age 19 and older received 53% of their calories from such foods. Ultra-processed foods, according to the CDC, are able to provide energy but are "low in dietary fiber, and contain little or no whole foods, while having high amounts of salt, sweeteners, and unhealthy fats." The agency also stated that the consumption of ultra-processed foods "has been associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality." A deeper breakdown of the study showed that among children, kids ages 1-5 received 56.1% of their calories from ultra-processed foods, while those ages 6-11 received 64.8% of their calories from them. The caloric reception from such foods then dips slightly for youth ages 12-18, at 63%. As for adults, the numbers indicate that they get fewer calories from ultra-processed foods, as those ages 19-39 received 54.4% of calories from them, then adults ages 40-59 52.6%, and those ages 60 and older 51.7%. The CDC also noted that the top five sources of calories from ultra-processed foods among kids are sandwiches, burgers, sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened beverages. The CDC is an agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted a video clip to X Wednesday in which he said that "we are poisoning our children, we are mass-poisoning this generation of children" with sugar and ultra-processed foods.
NBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- NBC News
Ultra-processed foods make up the majority of kids' diet, CDC report finds
Ultra-processed foods make up the bulk of what kids eat — and adults aren't far behind, a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds. About 62% of kids' and teens' daily calories came from ultra-processed foods, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics found, compared with 53% for adults. The report marks the first time CDC has provided estimates about how much ultra-processed foods make up Americans' diets. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in May cited ultra-processed foods among his list of top issues that need to be addressed to curb what he says is an epidemic of childhood chronic diseases. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services took the first step to formally define 'ultra-processed foods' — a move, experts say, that could open the door to regulation, including what types of food are eligible for food assistance programs. Diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked to a number of health problems, including depression, Type 2 diabetes and early death. Previous administrations have also tried to take action on ultra-processed foods, but those efforts have focused mostly on labeling and individual ingredients — such as added sugars and trans fats — rather than on regulating or classifying foods based on their level of processing. In January, during the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration proposed requiring a new label on the front of most packaged food and drinks that would alert consumers to how much saturated fat, salt and added sugar they contained. Thursday's report was based on findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from August 2021 to August 2023. The report's lead author, Anne Williams, a researcher with the National Center for Health Statistics, said the agency identified ultra-processed foods using the NOVA classification system — a framework developed by Brazilian researchers that's the most commonly used tool to evaluate processed foods. NOVA defines ultra-processed products as 'industrial creations' made with little — if any — whole foods. The top source of ultra-processed foods for both kids and adults was sandwiches, such as burgers, hot dogs and PB&Js, Williams said. That was followed by baked goods, salty snacks and sugary drinks. The report found that adults with higher incomes tended to eat fewer ultra-processed foods. It also found that intake of ultra-processed foods for both kids and adults dropped slightly from 2017-18 to August 2021–23. For adults, the decline started even earlier, going back to 2013–14. Williams cautioned that the decline so far has been small — a 56-calorie difference over roughly a decade. Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said the CDC's findings align with what outside researchers have found about Americans' eating habits. Nestle said parents tend to gravitate toward ultra-processed foods for their kids because they're easy to throw in a school lunch bag. But, she added, probably the biggest reason kids eat so many ultra-processed foods is that the food industry heavily markets it to them. 'They're the most profitable products in the supermarket, and the companies sell them, they market them directly to kids,' Nestle said. 'They're seen as cool and are iconic and you're lucky to eat them, because that's how they're marketed.' The term 'ultra-processed food' was created around 2009 and has primarily been used for research purposes, said Susan Mayne, who was director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in both the Biden and the first Trump administrations. Mayne said research has shown that eating ultra-processed foods in general is linked to increased caloric intake and weight gain and that it is associated with greater risk of chronic diseases. The problem with defining ultra-processed foods, she said, is that not all of them are linked to greater health risks. In fact, some — like certain yogurts, whole grain breads and cereals — are actually associated with reduced risks of chronic diseases like colon cancer. States like California have tried to address that by coming up with a definition of 'particularly harmful' ultra-processed foods, she added. The NOVA classification system also has limitations, as it doesn't directly measure processing, Mayne said. Rather, it uses additives and specific ingredients as a proxy for the level of processing. 'FDA is engaging in a public process to attempt to define UPF, which is a good first step,' Mayne said in an email, referring to ultra-processed foods. 'But it would be important to repeat studies to demonstrate that the new definition is as or more predictive of chronic disease risk than existing definitions before it could be used for policies.' HHS hasn't said when it plans to formally define 'ultra-processed.' Nestle said she hopes the Trump administration also targets marketing. 'These are highly convenient products, and the kids will eat them because the kids have been trained to eat them,' she said.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
American youth derived 62 percent of calories from ‘ultra-processed' foods: CDC
A new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the majority of calories consumed by American youth in recent years came from 'ultra-processed' foods. The CDC analysis looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on calorie consumption of U.S. youths and adults between August 2021 and 2023. The report used the Nova classification system of food which defines 'ultra-processed' foods as those that consist of 'industrial formulations of processed foods that typically contain unnatural additives, such as colorings or emulsifiers.' NHANES participants aged one year and older who had reliable dietary recall beginning from Day 1 of interviews were included in the population sample. A total of 6,633 participants were included in the analysis. Among American youths, about 62 percent of their daily calories came from ultra-processed foods while among adults this percentage was 53 percent. The report categorized individuals aged between one and 18-years-old as youths and those aged 19 and older as adults. Across different age groups, youths aged six to 11 had the highest average percentage of processed food comprising their caloric intake at 64.8 percent. Adults 60 and higher had the lowest rate of processed food comprising their caloric intake at 51.7 percent. The survey found a decrease in the consumption of ultra-processed food consumptions among both youths and adults between August 2021 and 2023. This report comes soon after the Trump administration moved to allow state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) to ban benefits from being used on processed foods. Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas and Florida received federal waivers to adjust SNAP guidelines outlawing the purchase of junk food with state funds in 2026. The waivers, such as the one acquired by Colorado, have largely cited soda as one of the primary junk foods that states don't want to be eligible for SNAP benefits. According to the NHANES, the top five sources of ultra-processed foods for youth were sandwiches, sweet bakery products, savory snacks, pizza and sweetened beverages.
6 days ago
- Health
Americans consume more than half of their calories from ultra-processed foods: CDC
Adults and children in the United States are getting more than 50% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods, according to a new federal report released early Thursday. Among Americans aged 1 and older, an average of 55% of their total calories came from ultra-processed foods, according to results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between August 2021 and August 2023 and run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children aged 18 and younger consumed a higher percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 61.9% compared to 53% for adults aged 19 and older. "That's excessive," Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. "That's concerning. It's way too much. … We don't have guidelines, because why would we provide guidelines for junk food, but about 10% would be reasonable." It comes amid Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s crusade to rid American diets of ultra-processed foods. Recently, the White House's Make America Healthy Again Commission, led by Kennedy, released a report blaming ultra-processed foods as one cause of the rise in chronic disease rates, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. The report described ultra-processed foods as "hyperpalatable," containing little to no whole foods and being low in dietary fiber while being high in salt, sweeteners and unhealthy fats. Examples include most, but not all, chips, candy bars, breakfast cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages and ready-to-eat meals. "They're high in sugar, high in carbohydrates and high in fat," Zampano said. "When you combine those, the taste is an explosion in your mouth and you think, 'Wow this is good.'" Studies have shown that consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, the report said. When breaking children down into smaller age groups, the report found that children between ages 1 and 5 consumed fewer calories from ultra-processed foods than children between ages 6 and 22 and pre-teens and teenagers aged 12 to 18. Among adults, those aged 19 to 39 consumed the highest percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 54.4% compared to adults aged 40 to 59, who consumed 52.6%, and adults aged 60 and older, who consumed 51.7%. However, there was a silver lining in the report. Data showed that between 2013 and 2014 and August 2021 through August 2023, average calories from ultra-processed foods fell among adults and children. Average total calories from ultra-processed foods decreased from 55.8% in 2013 through 2014 to 53% from August 2021 to August 2023. For children, it fell from 63.8% to 61.9% over the same period. "It's good that we see a decline of the percentage of ultra-processed food in both children and adults," Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer and nutrition epidemiologist and Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. "I wish that there could be some analysis to see which [food subgroup consumption] is declining," she continued. "I didn't see that. It might be the sugars and beverages because we have done a lot of work to try to lower the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages." To lower the percentage of total calories Americans are getting from ultra-processed foods, Zumpano said she would like to see less marketing of the products on television and make sure schools and parents are educated on the negative health effects of ultra-processed foods. "If kids get a packaged snack or a dessert at school lunch every day, they think it's okay," she said. "Or if their parents are eating ultra-processed foods every day, then they think it's okay. It has to come from schools, parents educating themselves and then educating their children." Zhang agreed, saying the reduction of ultra-processed foods in schools and workplaces "could have a long-lasting impact on the overall population level health."
